The NBA Trade Rumor Mill is up and about. All it takes is one team to propose, and the speculation can snowball all over the league. However, there is a trade that the Celtics may seriously consider.

The New York Knicks are desperate. Their owner has declared that the Knicks will win the championship. Seriously, despite having an intact Miami Heat, a retooled Chicago Bulls and an emerging Pacers squad (and that's just the East), the Knicks will win the championship.

They were actually the team that started these rumors rolling. However, since the predictions are so preposterous, it is better to focus on events that can actually happen.

The Houston Rockets would not want to admit it, but the situation on Omer Asik has reached a deadlock, and they have no choice but to trade him. Of course, having 'no choice' means 'no leverage.' Something Boston has by simply biding its time. The Celtics are not desperate and are actually trying to bottom out, contrary to their public declarations. Their stoic stance with Rondo, that they do not want to trade him and will build around him allows the Celtics to see just how much they can get.

However, it won't get much better than this. A trade for Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin will be beneficial for the Celtics. As time passes, most GMs become privy that Ainge is just driving up Rondo's trade value but not really intent with him on the long term.

There are hesitations on what Rondo can bring to Houston, but no one will argue that he is a massive upgrade over Lin, even though Lin is performing well. There was only one other time that Lin performed well, and the Rockets realize that his contract is not worth a few spurts of good games and the Taiwanese fan base. And since they took Howard with the intention of winning a title, the big question would be: Is Jeremy Lin a championship point guard? Not even the Knicks thought so.

This is intriguing, but Rockets' owner Daryl Morey always wants draft picks-something a Celtics' team with eyes on the future will not give up.